Singing, Dancing and Ugly Sweaters
by suburbs
Summary: Where Kevin learns a lesson, Stella gets an idea, and Joe doesn't get to tell his ugly sweater jokes. JONAS. Tag to "Chasing the Dream".
1. Lessons Learned

_Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS or Oscar the Grouch._

_A/N: I am so sorry to everyone who has me on alert because I have been posting like crazy and you must be sick of me. But now that I'm home, I finally got to see the new episode, "Chasing the Dream" and felt compelled to write something for it before I went to sleep. It has been a very long day, so hopefully this makes sense. And the obsessive posting should be over now because I have to go back to the real world._

_Dedication: To LilytheSilly and Mrs. MorrisonCobain because I have been a horrible beta and owe them both stories. I'm so sorry!_

Watching Macy dance and sing in the atrium gave Kevin a warm, happy feeling. Sure, she was killing a few flowers and he was really hoping that seagull was just stunned, but there was something about her that was so free and joyful. And he really respected the fact that she wanted to do something just because she enjoyed it, even if she wasn't ever going to be great at it. All together, she just made him smile.

As a bonus, he thought they might very well be on their way to being actual friends. They had just had a conversation, and Macy made it through the entire three minutes without once mentioning JONAS. That had to be a first. It was like she was looking at him and seeing Kevin Lucas, person, instead of Kevin of JONAS.

If it happened once, it could happen again.

His eyes widened in surprise as he realized that while he was talking to her and watching her dance, he had even forgotten that he was wearing a hideous, flowery girl sweater. Now if only she could make him forget how much his hand still hurt from when she slammed it in her locker; it really made it difficult to play the guitar.

Humming happily, he headed down the hallway, forgetting he was supposed to be sneaking so no one would see the monstrosity Stella had made for him. He grinned and waved when he saw his brothers standing at the base of the staircase.

"Dude, why are you still wearing that sweater?" Nick asked incredulously. "You look like an idiot."

"I actually think he pulls it off better than Stella did," Joe said, giving his brother an appraising glance.

Nick stepped back before nodding, "You're right. But don't let her hear you say that. Who knows what she'd cook up for you in revenge."

"Good point."

"Look," Kevin sighed. "She made it for me, so I had to wear it. I didn't want to hurt her feelings."

"She knows you hated it. She's just messing with you cause you wouldn't tell her the truth," Joe explained.

"Really?"

"Don't believe me? Ask her yourself." Joe gestured towards the blonde approaching them.

"Ask me what?" Stella asked.

"Why you made me this lovely sweater," Kevin said, his voice climbing higher with each word.

"Cause you wouldn't just tell me you hated mine."

"What? How did you know I hated it?"

"Kevin, how long have I known you?" Stella asked. Kevin looked thoughtful as he began counting on his fingers. She rolled her eyes before continuing, "I know your voice gets high and squeaky when you don't want to hurt someone's feelings. Ever since that time you had to tell that girl about that thing."

Kevin perked up, "I know. That was horrible."

He glanced around for his guitar before Nick snapped, "No songs at school Kevin."

"Sure," he said pouting, "there's time for songs when Nick likes a girl, but not when I have a story to tell. How's that fair?"

"Moving on…" Joe said impatiently. "Can we get to the part where I'm right about Stella tricking you into wearing that hideous thing all day? Cause I have a wealth of ugly sweater jokes that aren't going to tell themselves."

Stella glared at Joe before turning to his brother. "I appreciate that you don't want to hurt my feelings, Kevin, but when I ask you something it's because I really want to know what you think. Okay?"

He nodded. "So can I take this off now?"

Stella tilted her head and gave him a penetrating look, "First tell me what you really thought about my sweater."

Grimacing, he burst out, "It made me think of Oscar the Grouch's girlfriend."

"Excellent," she said proudly. "You can now take it off."

Sighing in relief, he removed the offending garment and handed it over to Stella.

"Now I can't tell my jokes," Joe whined.

"Just repeat them in your head, Joseph. No one else thinks you're as funny as you do anyway," Stella retorted.

"I do crack myself up."

"We know," Nick responded wearily. "Oh, do we know."

At that moment, Macy came bouncing up to the group with a huge smile. Stella's interest was immediately sparked when she saw a soft, almost dreamy look cross Kevin's face as the brunette approached.

"Did you have fun?" The oldest Lucas brother asked Macy.

"I did. It was very freeing." Then a puzzled look crossed her face as she added, "But the Ornithology Club President knocked on the glass and asked me if I'd practice inside next time, which was weird."

Thinking of the seagull, Kevin hurried to suggest an alternate location, "You know, if you ever want to come over and use the studio, it's totally sound proof. You could sing to your heart's content and not worry about anyone interrupting."

"Thank, Kevin."

"You're welcome."

The two stood in the middle of the hallway, completely oblivious to everyone else.

Finally Stella broke them out of their moment by clearing her throat. "Don't you have practice now Macy?"

"Oh, my gosh. I'm going to be late for fencing. I'd better go!" Turning she chirped, "Bye Joe. Bye Nick. Bye Stella." Then more softly, "Bye Kevin."

"Bye Macy." They all said together.

Stella watched Kevin shrewdly before throwing an arm around his shoulder. "Have you ever been to a fencing match?"

"I don't think so."

She thought maybe it was time that Kevin saw Macy in her element, doing something she was really good at. He wouldn't know what hit him.


	2. Almost Foiled

_Disclaimer: I do not own JONAS._

_A/N: My mind is blank. I just realized I have nothing to say except the end is weak. And I can't wait for the next episode._

Kevin sat in the bleachers in awe of Macy – she was graceful, powerful and moved with total control. She had fenced three times, and had only been hit once. He was actually starting to feel sorry for her opponents because they obviously didn't stand a chance. His brothers sitting next to him were equally impressed.

"Stella," Joe said slowly, "your friend is scary."

Nick nodded in agreement his eyes wide with shock, "Remind me never to make her mad."

"Don't be silly, boys. Macy would never hurt you." Stella paused, noticing the dubious looks on their faces. "On purpose. She'd never hurt you on purpose."

"I guess that's true," Nick said begrudgingly.

"Besides, if she ever did get that upset with you, she wouldn't need a sword; she'd just use one of the martial arts she knows. I've seen her break a cement block with her bare hands and flip a man twice your size."

Nick raised an eyebrow as he observed, "You're really not making us feel better, Stell."

"I know. It's more fun to watch you squirm."

"Shh," Kevin finally said. "I'm trying to concentrate."

"Don't hurt yourself," Joe muttered under his breath before wincing as Stella hit him in the arm.

"Be nice," she warned.

When the match was over, Stella raced ahead of the boys to congratulate her friend. She pulled Macy into a hug, squealing, "You were fantastic!"

"Thanks," Macy replied, still clutching her foil.

Stella gave her friend an appraising look before suggestion, "How about you put that sword back in your bag before the guys get here."

"It's a foil, not a sword. And it's not even sharp," Macy replied cheerfully.

"Maybe you couldn't actually impale them on it, but I'm pretty sure it would still hurt."

"Oh. Right. I could poke someone's eye out with this thing, couldn't I?"

As Macy scurried to put her foil away, Nick and Joe mouthed, "Thank you!" to Stella. Once she returned from her errand, she focused immediately on Kevin.

"Did you like it?"

"I loved it. You were amazing." Kevin slapped his hand over his mouth as he realized that his voice had come out high and squeaky. Macy's eyes filled with tears, obviously assuming he was lying to her again.

"No! Macy don't cry." Panicked, he turned to Stella. "I wasn't lying. Tell her I wasn't lying. I don't know why my voice did that, but I wasn't lying."

Stella put a hand on his arm to reassure him while trying not to laugh, "I know, Kev. It's okay." Turning to Macy, she said, "He was telling the truth, Macy. I promise."

Macy's voice quivered as she spoke, "Then why did his voice do that?"

"I'll explain in just a minute," she replied while glancing around the now almost empty gym. "But first, I need Joe and Nick to go get those gymnastic mats over there."

"But I want to hear the explanation too," Joe whined.

"Go get the mats and put them right there," Stella told him, pointing to a place behind her friend. "You won't miss anything if you hurry."

"So tell me what's going on, please," Macy pleaded.

"I will explain it to you as soon as the guys get back." Her friend insisted.

"And me too?" Kevin asked.

Pointing at the oldest Lucas brother, Stella said, "Think about it. This has happened before. Remember that awards show after party two years ago?"

Both girls saw the exact moment that it clicked for him. His face flushed a dark red and he began to stammer, "Do we have to tell her?" Turning to Macy, "You trust me, don't you? I really thought you were amazing out there."

Macy looked at him with wide, innocent eyes. "Okay, Kevin. I believe you."

"Thank you."

Stella looked at him with amusement, "You're not getting off that easy. Either you tell her or I will."

At that moment, Nick and Joe arrived and dropped the stack of folded mats behind Macy. Then they turned and looked at Stella.

"Are you going to explain or should I?" She asked Kevin.

"You go ahead. I know you'll enjoy it more than I would."

Grinning she turned to her friend, "You see Macy, it is true that his voice gets high like that when he lies, but in extreme cases, he also sounds like that when he's really nervous."

"I made you nervous?" Macy asked, obviously worried that she had upset Kevin. "I can't believe I made a member of JONAS nervous. Wait, why did I make you nervous? Are you afraid of me? Did you think I was going to stab you with my foil? I promise they're not sharp and I already put mine away."

"No Macy," Stella interrupted. "Not scared nervous. Girl nervous."

The brunette's eyes went wide with confusion, "Girl nervous?"

"Kevin's voice gets really high when he talks to a girl he likes."

"Oh. Oh!" Macy began to take short, shallow breathes as Stella's words sunk in. She stumbled backwards and sat down heavily on the pile of mats behind her. "I can't believe that a member of JONAS likes me!"

Gesturing towards the mats, Stella grinned triumphantly at Joe, "Why do you still doubt me? I told you we needed the mats."

"You could've just explained. You didn't need to be so bossy and cryptic."

Stella and Joe were too busy bickering to notice the moment that Macy's body language changed. But Kevin saw it. It was almost as if someone turned off the fangirl inside her, and the real Macy took over. She looked so vulnerable as she looked up at him, "Do you really like me?" She whispered.

He nodded.

"Why? I dropped a bowling ball on your foot and slammed your hand in my locker."

"I know. But you didn't mean to."

"And I still freak out about the band all the time. That's gotta be really annoying."

"Sometimes," he admitted.

"So why?"

He blushed before saying, "You're not like any other girl I've ever met. You're not afraid to be goofy and try new things, and you make me laugh." He hesitated before adding, "Plus you have really, really pretty eyes."

Now it was her turn to blush. "I really like you too, Kevin."

"Cause I'm a member of JONAS?"

She shook her head, "Because you're sweet. No one else would encourage me to sing after everything that happened. Or wear that hideous sweater to protect Stella's feelings."

"Really?"

"Really!"

The two leaned in towards each other but stopped abruptly when they heard a voice behind them.

"Aw," Stella sighed happily. "Aren't they adorable?"

"Way to ruin the moment there, Stell," Nick said dryly. He put one hand on her shoulder and the other on Joe's before adding, "How about leaving these two lovebirds alone?"

"Do we have to? It's like sitting through all the boring parts of the movie and leaving right when it gets good," Joe insisted.

"We're leaving now," Nick assured his oldest brother, who was now frowning at them. "Even if I have to drag them both out of here."

As soon as the three walked away, Kevin cleared his throat, "Do you maybe want to go get something to eat?"

Macy grinned, "Sure."

Smiling, he reached for her hand and began to move towards the door. He took a step forward before noticing that she wasn't actually following him; she was standing still, looking at him expectantly.

"What?"

"Aren't you forgetting something?"

Kevin looked around the gym, trying to figure out what he had forgotten. He left his backpack in the car, and he didn't bring a jacket. Confused, he asked, "Am I?"

Macy stood on her tip toes and whispered, "I think you were about to do something before Stella interrupted."

"Oh, right! How did I forget that?" He leaned down and gently brushed his lips over hers. He heard her breath hitch at the contact and she let out a happy sigh as he deepened the kiss.

When they pulled away, he looked down at her adoringly, "Wow! You kiss even better than you fence."


End file.
